


Clone Force Zero

by GreaterAwareness



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: 501st got a lot deadlier, Clone Force Zero, Fives is going to have fun with new weapons, Kix has a new medic friend, OC clones - Freeform, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-14
Updated: 2021-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-21 23:14:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,668
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30029349
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GreaterAwareness/pseuds/GreaterAwareness
Summary: After Rex and Cody are saved by a mysterious group of clones who fight more like Jedi then normal clones they can't get them out of their head. They were told to keep their existence a secret even from their Generals. Conflicted with this information they don't have to keep it hidden long when the mysterious clone unit is assigned to the 501st. The Jedi Council doesn't trust them and neither does Rex. He's certain they have ulterior motives but what?
Kudos: 2





	Clone Force Zero

They are forced back further into the cave by the advancing droid army. Captain Rex and Commander Cody had gotten separated from their men in an ambush by the separatists. Now they’re cornered at the back of the cave behind large boulders for cover. Rex pushes his back against a boulder cursing under his breath.

“Almost out of ammo.” He says inspecting his blasters. Cody throws a thermal grenade before falling back against the boulder.

“That was my last grenade. Running low on ammo too.” Cody says flinching when the firing intensifies. They’re pinned down unable to fire a shot without getting hit themselves. Rex shakes his head realizing what few options they had.

“We could try the coms again?” He suggests but Cody shakes his head.

“They’ve jammed the signal.” Cody says with silence falling on the two clones. Rex shifts feeling his chest grow tight.

“Well then I guess this is it then.” He says roughly.

“Seems that way Rex ol’ boy.” Cody nods. Rex gives Cody a light shove.

“Well, if this is the end then I’m going down blasting!” Rex says holding his blasters up. Cody stands up straight holding his blaster tightly in his hands.

“Right there with you brother.” Cody says. The two reach out squeezing each other’s shoulder while pressing their helmets together. After a moment they break apart bracing themselves before charging into the firing droids. They stand their ground firing with all they’ve got. They’re able to take a few down but are quickly getting over run. They start to except the end when a blinking light flies through the air landing a few feet in front of them.

“Is that… an arrow?” Rex asks staring at the metal arrow stuck in the ground. Cody shoves Rex behind the boulders before the thermal attached to the arrow can go off. They cover their heads until the dirt has settled. Cautiously they poke their heads out from their cover to find the clankers closes to them crumbled on the cave floor. Cody shakes Rex’s shoulder pointing towards the cave opening. A clone runs on the top of the droid heads drawing their fire. He shakes his hands making wire shoot out of them. He swings the wire slicing droids in half before leaping in the air landing on a commando droids back. He wraps the wires around the droid’s head using it to steer the droid to fire on its allies.

Clanking of metal against metal draws their attention to the left of the cave where another clone has appeared. He swings a long metal spear that cuts through the droids like butter. A ray shield appears on the clones left arm providing some cover so the clone can get close enough to attack. More movement at the mouth of the cave draws Rex’s attention. Two clones busy themselves turning the droids entering the cave into scrap metal. One clone carries no weapons only shields to get close enough before going after them with hand-to-hand combat. He hits hard and fast with deadly blows. He charges at a commando droid leaping forward to land a blow at the center of the clankers chest. He hits so hard the clanker flies back taking out any battle droids behind it.

“How the hell did he do that?” Rex asks as if Cody had the answers. The last clone appeared to be a Commander. He swings two swords cutting through the battle droids as easily as the one with the spear. He moves faster than the other clones. He was practically a blur running through the army. When he does find himself surrounded by firing droids, he swings his swords reflecting the droid shots even aiming and taking droids out.

“They fight like Jedi.” Cody says shaking his head in disbelief. Movement behind them makes them whip around with blasters drawn. Another clone kneels in front of the cave wall. He slides his hands across the surface before pressing a spot making markings and symbols appear on the stone wall. He scans the images with his helmet before standing.

“How did you get there without us noticing?” Rex asks him. The clone doesn’t answer. He walks right past Rex and Cody to leap onto the boulders. He’s noticeably different then the other four. He wears a black ripped fabric as a hood over his helmet. It wraps around his shoulders falling to his midback. He pulls out a metal bow drawing an arrow firing into the metal ocean of droids. It lands on a battle droids head before bursting into several different blasts taking down all droids in a twenty-foot radius. When Rex looks back up at the clone he’s gone. Rex shakes his head realizing that he was not going to die today. “I’m not letting them have all the fun!”

Rex runs out firing with Cody at his side. With the droids down to a much more manageable size, Rex and Cody are able to aid in their own rescue. After the last droid is down Rex stands up straight putting his blasters away with a spin. They walk up to the Commander pulling one of his swords out of a commando droids’ chest.

“That was impressive.” Rex says. The Commander looks over his shoulder at them before walking away. Rex glances at Cody who is as baffled as he is.

“What’s your name? I would love to thank the men who saved my neck.” Cody says as they follow behind the Commander. His men group up in front of him. Rex didn’t recognize these clones at all. They wear white and black armor. Each have the paint personalized for uniqueness as if this batch of clones needed it.

“Hey, I know you hear us talking to you!” Rex says with his patience wearing thin. The Commander pauses letting his head drop slightly as he sighed before signaling his men to moveout. He turns towards Rex and Cody.

“Apologies Captain,” He speaks finally. “How can I be of service of you?”  
Cody and Rex exchange a look.

“I’d like to know who just took out an entire droid army.” Rex says crossing his arms. Cody places a hand on Rex’s shoulder to try and calm his bubbling anger.

“We just want to know your name.” Cody says stepping between them. The Commander gives an audible sigh this time while looking to the side and then back up to Cody.

“You can just call me Commander… Commander.” The Commander says. Rex can feel his eye twitch similar to when Fives or Hardcase tells them of their shenanigans. “My men will radio you a pickup at the mouth of the cave.”

The Commander leaves them without another word.

“I have a feeling we’re not going to get anything out of him.” Cody mumbles. Rex shakes his head still processing everything.

“I have never seen anyone like them before. You think they’re commandos?” Rex asks starting for the mouth of the cave. Cody lifts his hand to his chin similar to the way General Kenobi does.

“No, their armor doesn’t match a commando not to mention most commandos work in batches of four. They’re five altogether,” Cody muses. “I’m still wrapping my head around that none of them carried a blaster at all.”

When they reach the cave entrance the clones who rescued them are gone without a trace. Cody tries the coms again with no luck while Rex leans against the cave wall still pondering the odd clones. When a gunship flies into view Rex was at least glad he kept his word. They walk towards the ship expecting one of their men or even their generals to be waiting on the inside. When Fox appears leaning on the ship walls Rex and Cody pause before stepping inside.

“You two look like you’ve been to hell and back.” Fox chuckles when the ship takes off.

“You could say that.” Rex mutters with his arms crossed.

“Fox, the guys who called you for the pickup… who are they?” Cody asks. Fox doesn’t answer at first. He stares at the floor choosing his next words carefully.

“I don’t know what you mean.” He says making Rex roll his eyes.

“Alright, enough of this mystery bullshit. Five clones using melee weapons just took out an entire droid army in record time.” Rex says stepping towards Fox.

“I mean we’d love to take credit for it but it wasn’t us.” Cody says standing with Rex. Fox lets out a sigh crossing his arms.

“Alright fellas,” Fox says after a moment. “What you saw was Clone Force Zero. They are a special forces unit who work under complete secrecy for the Republic. Only a small handful of people even know of their existence.”

“Clone Force Zero? Why the secrecy? Why can’t even their allies know of them?” Cody asks pulling his Generals pondering pose again.

“Can’t reveal what you don’t know.” Rex sighs understanding but still annoyed at it all.

“Exactly,” Fox says. “You can’t reveal anything you’ve seen today to anyone. Even the Jedi.”

“Fox, we can’t lie to the Generals.” Cody says dropping his pondering hand.

“Do it. If you don’t lie to them then you’ll be getting a visit from Clone Force Zero personally. And they’ll make sure they’re the last thing you’ll ever see.” Fox warns. Cody and Rex exchange looks but ultimately agree to stay mum. The rest of the ride is spent in silence. Rex felt uneasy about the whole situation. He didn’t like keeping secrets from General Skywalker. Not to mention they could usually tell when he was hiding something from them. He rubs his face tiredly already knowing the looks both the General and Ahsoka are going to give him.

Fox drops them off close to the where their men are camped for the night. The give their thanks before making their way back to their men. General Kenobi and General Skywalker are already walking towards them before they can reach the fire they huddle around.

“Cody, where have you been! We were about to send out scouting parties. Why didn’t you com us?” General Kenobi asks crossing his arms.

“The droids cornered us into a cave and jammed our coms.” Cody explains.

“But you were able to call for a pickup instead to us?” General Skywalker raises an eyebrow at Rex.

“Uh no, we actually got lucky, and Fox just happened to… uh be near by to um pick us up.” Rex stammers through. Cody gives a disappointed sigh. Maybe it _wasn’t_ such a surprise why the General always knew when Rex was keeping things from him. Both the Generals share a look before dropping it much to Rex relief.

“We’re just glad you’re safe. Now come and rest. We’re heading back to Coruscant in the morning.” General Kenobi says leading them to the fire. Cody elbows Rex in the side.

“ _Uh um_ what was that?” Cody hisses as they walk behind the Generals.

“You lie next time!” Rex hisses back. Rex sits next to Ahsoka who punches his shoulder.

“Glad you made it back alive. I was gonna be pissed if you abandoned with me Master.” She says leaning on her knees.

“Leave you alone with the General? Never.” Rex grins. After filling up on rations everyone hunkers down for the night. Rex lays on his mat staring up at the stars. His mind still raced with images of the clones fighting off all those clones. They couldn’t have learned that on Kamino. He could have pondered them longer if his men weren’t in a heated debate in a loud whisper. “What is going on?”

“Sorry sir,” Echo says from his mat. He gives a look at Fives. “Fives here won’t let us sleep without telling us his brilliant new plan to take Grievous down.”

“Not this again.” Kix groans from his mat.

“Hey all I’m saying is a an ewok army might not be such a bad idea!” Fives hisses across the moaning men. Jesse throws a rock near Fives making Rex chuckle. Better to forget the whole thing. Nothing Rex can do about it now.

*At the Senate*

By the time Fox can make it back to the Senate Clone Force Zero is already there. When he walks into the hallway leading to the Chancellor’s office, he finds four clones looking relatively bored.

“Welcome back 1010!” Flex says spinning in Fox’s chair behind his desk. Fox grabs the chair holding it still frowning down at the clone. Flex stares up at him for a second before sliding out of the chair and standing next to his brothers. Fox takes his seat removing his helmet. He glances at the door to the Chancellor’s office.

“They’ve been in there a long time.” Side-eye says leaning against a pillar.

“Is that so unusual?” Fox asks leaning on his desk. In the time Fox has known Clone Force Zero he’s never seen their faces. He wasn’t even sure he was supposed to learn their names.

“Not for data retrievals like this one. It was a quick in and out. So should the debrief.” Side-eye says with a slight twitch of his head. 

“Well, it wasn’t just a in and out,” Stitch says. He shifts his weight with a hand on his hip. “There were those two clones there. And not just low-ranking ones. Commander Cody and Captain Rex.”

“What? You think we’re going to get in trouble for being seen by them?” Flex asks. Fox can’t help but look to the last clone, Ghost. He never moves from initially walking in and never speaks. Almost like the statues the Chancellor has lining the hall to his office. Before they can continue their conversation the office door opens as Commander X walks out. He signals his men to move out before giving Fox a polite nod and walking after them.

“Commander, a moment.” The Chancellor calls from his office. Fox slides out from behind his desk and marches into the Chancellor’s office. He stands at attention.

“Sir!” He says with every muscle in his body tensed. The Chancellor had a dark look in his eye. He always did when Clone Force Zero came around.

“I’ve been thinking it might be time to widen the horizons of Clone Force Zero,” he starts. He places his elbows on his desk intertwining his fingers. “Imagine what good they could do when intermingled with the regular clones.”

Fox doesn’t speak. There was little the Chancellor wanted to hear from clones. A lesson he learned the hard way over the years.

“I’m going to have them assigned to Master Skywalkers battalion. Yes… that would work quite nicely,” The Chancellor says with a slight smile spreading across his face. “Go and make sure they merge with the regular clones without incident.”  
“Yes sir!” Fox says before about-facing and exiting the Chancellor’s office. When the doors close behind him, he lets himself relax. Fox couldn’t think of a legitimate reason a special forces unit should be merged into a regular clone battalion. Past data shows when special forces teams are treated like normal army battalions that over half of them die within the first few months. Clone Force Zero was unlike any special forces unit he’s ever seen. If anyone could make it then they could.

*501st Barracks, Coruscant*

The early hours of the morning were always Rex’s favorite. The boys were either still asleep or walking around half conscious. It was the only quiet time they gave him. He was usually the first to rise but today it seems Kix, Jesse, and Hardcase have beat him to it. They stumble back into the barracks from an early run. Jesse wipes the dripping sweat from his face with his shirt while Kix uses his bunk to stretch. Hardcase immediately falls into his bunk making Kix gag.

“That is disgusting! You’re covered in sweat. Go shower!” Kix hisses trying to keep his voice down. Hardcase groans but forces himself up and shuffles off to the showers. Rex chuckles before pulling his armor on and exiting the barracks. He could use a tall cup of caf before starting the day. There was nothing planned for today so it could be spent however they liked. Rex never knew what to do with himself on days like these, but Cody usually had a few ideas. A beeping from his coms brings him to a halt in the hallway.

“Hey Rex, sorry to bother you so early but we’re getting summoned.” General Skywalker says.

“No problem Sir. On my way.” Rex says changing directions and heading for the Jedi Council Chamber.

When he makes it to the Chamber, he can already feel the tension from the other side of the door. He walks inside to realize why. Five clones in black and white armor stand before the council. General Skywalker stands to the side with his arms crossed not looking pleased. None of the Jedi do in fact.

“Good of you to join us, Captain,” General Kenobi says with a furrowed brow. It wasn’t aimed at Rex and more to the five clones who haven’t moved since Rex had walked in. Rex takes his place next to General Skywalker. “It seems you will be having five new additions to your battalion.”

“What?” Rex hadn’t meant to say that out loud. He quickly clears his throat and goes. “Understood General.”

Master Yoda and Master Windu narrow their eyes at the five clones.

“Odd it is, to never have learned of you until now.” Master Yoda says gripping his cane.

“We were told to keep our existence a secret to better utilize our skills.” The Commander says.

“And who told you this?” Master Windu asks. Rex glances at the five clones. They still wear their helmets and none of them stand at any form of attention. Rex stands with his hands behind his back in a loose parade rest. They seem to be giving the Jedi as much respect that they gave Rex and Cody.

“Our Master.” The Commander says plainly. Rex narrows his eyes at them.

“And who is your Master?” General Kenobi asks.

“He never gave us a name other then Master.” The Commander goes on. The Council members exchange looks.

“A Jedi master, could it be hm?” Master Yoda asks with a jab of his cane. Silence falls on the Commander.

“Why would a Jedi train lowly clones like us? I was under the assumption you were to busy for such things.” He says with venom behind every word. Master Windu shifts in his seat ready to argue when General Skywalker steps forward.

“The Chancellor says that these five are some of the most noble and loyal clones he has ever met,” The General says stepping between the five clones and the Council. “If the Chancellor vouches for them then I would be honored to have them fight at my side.”

Rex shifts feeling awkward standing to the side alone. Master Yoda closes his eyes thinking.

“With Skywalker you will go. Watching you, the council will.” Master Yoda says opening his eyes again. General Skywalker is the first to leave the Chamber followed by the five clones. Rex starts to walk after them.

“Wait, Captain,” General Kenobi says bringing Rex to a halt. Rex looks back at him. “Keep an eye on those five.”

“Yes, shrouded in darkness they are,” Master Yoda agrees. “Trust them, I do not.”

“I will Sir.” Rex says finally being dismissed. He lets out a breath of relief to be out of the Chamber. Usually, he isn’t so stiff when summoned since knowing and fighting beside most of the Jedi. Those five must really put them on edge. Rex finds the General standing with the five new clones. Rex joins them hesitantly.

“Ah Rex,” General Skywalker says with a much lighter tone then before. “Let me introduce you to your new brothers.”

“I’m Commander X. Nice to formally meet you Captain,” The Commander says reaching a hand out. Rex shakes it cautiously. “I apologise for our first meeting. We’ve never really interacted with other clones before. Our first instinct is to be…”

“Rude.” One of his men says making X shook him a look.

“Yeah, rude.” He shrugs.

“No harm done,” Rex says crossing his arms. “You can take your helmets off now. If we’re going to be working together it would be nice to know the faces next to me.”

Commander X hesitates at first before reaching up and lifting his helmet off. Rex was almost surprised to see a normal clone face staring back. His hair was shaved down like Rex’s but still as its natural dark color. A short, trimmed beard wraps around his jaw and below that tattoos crawling up the man’s neck. In his armor he couldn’t make them out, but Rex got a sense he was covered in them. The most notable thing of Commander X was the scar on the right side of his head that looked like an X. 

“Go on boys, take em off.” Commander X says to his men. They seem hesitant at first but eventually one by one pulls their helmet off. X gestures to the man closes to him. “This is Side-eye. My right hand man.”  
Side-eye has white dyed hair that is cut short around the sides of the head but long on the top where he keeps it brushed back. A scar runs down the left side of his face. He looks relatively unpleased about being here. X moves on to next man.

“This is Stitch,” X says. “Our team medic.”

“Nice to meet you!” Stitch reaches out shaking Rex’s hand with a big grin. Stitch has short brown hair similar to the haircut given to almost every clone except his is pointed in the front and cut into a fade down the side of his head. He shakes his hand eagerly before finally letting him go.

“And that’s Flex. He…”  
“I can dislocate both my shoulders! Wanna see?” Flex says cutting X off. He has blonde hair styled in a way a lot of younger humans have been doing. Rex raises a brow at him as Stitch pinches the bridge of his nose.

“No!” X says firmly making Flex frown before sighing and looking back at Rex. “Flex is our pyrotechnics expert.” 

“Not a day goes by I don’t want to hit that kid.” Side-eye mutters to X. Stitch smacks the back of Flex’s head.

“And last we have Ghost,” X says moving on to the last member. He hasn’t moved or said a word since they stopped in the hallway. He has long hair that he keeps in a short ponytail with a small strand falling in his face. Dark circles are formed under his eyes. He’s paler than the others and looks like he just heard bad news. “He doesn’t say much but you’ll never find anyone with his level of stealth or accuracy. He’s our sniper.”

“So, will they be new members of the 501st or…” Rex starts to ask not knowing how he felt with a new Commander joining his battalion.

“They aren’t official 501st. They’ll just be working with us, but they’ll have their own missions as well,” The General explains.

“Ah.” Is all Rex can say unable to muster any excitement.

“Well, I’m looking forward to working with you all,” The General says before frowning when he sees General Kenobi standing at the end of the hall with his arms crossed. “If you’ll excuse me gentlemen? Rex, show them to the 501st.”

“No problem General.” Rex says watching the General storm off towards General Kenobi. Rex leads Clone Force Zero down the hallway hoping they couldn’t sense his displeasure. The one, Ghost, slips his helmet back on and pulls his hood up but the other keep their helmets off.

“I feel naked with my helmet off.” Stitch says behind him.

“I like it. I think we should take more armor off.” Flex says making X and Side-eye stiffen.

“No.” They both say with Stitch smacking Flex on the back of the head again.

When they reach the barracks, his men are scattered still getting ready for the day.

“This is the 501st barracks. We have some open bunks in the back.” Rex says leading them further in. The boys notice the new guys almost immediately.

“Hello Captain,” Fives says with Echo, Jesse, Kix, and Hardcase following behind him. “Who’s this?”

“Boys, meet Clone Force Zero.” Rex says gesturing to X’s men.

“Clone Force Zero?” Jesse repeats the name.

“They’ll be working with us from now on.” Rex explains. Flex steps closer to his men inspecting them.

“You look interesting.” Flex says staring at Fives who steps back looking uneasy.

“Flex, we’ve been here all of five seconds and you’ve already freaked out the locals.” Stitch says pulling him back by his collar. Stitch turns back to fives with his hand out. “I’m Stitch, this misbehaved fellow is Flex. You’ll have to excuse him he hit his head a lot as a child.”

“Sounds like Fives.” Echo mutters earning an elbow from Fives. Jesse lets out a laugh as Kix steps forward to shake Stitch’s hand.

“Stitch… so can I assume you’re a medic?” Kix asks. Stitch’s eyes light up as the two of them go off in their own world talking about Force knows what. Hardcase walks over to Ghost who flinches when he gets a little too close.

“I’m Hardcase. Nice to meet you!” he says holding his hand out. Ghost stares at it before looking over at X.

“Shake his hand Ghost.” X says.

“Ghost! That’s an awesome name!” Hardcase says loudly.

“Thanks.” Ghost says barely audible. He carefully takes Hardcase’s hand who shakes so hard it shakes the man himself. Side-eye keeps a disapproving glower on his face keeping Jesse from introducing himself. X looks like a tired parent watching his men mingle with Rex’s guys. It was probably the first time they’ve had a chance to do this. Rex pats him on his shoulder leading him away.

“Come on, they’ll be fine.” Rex says. Rex leads him out of the barracks and towards the Commanders lounge. It was a place to get away from the boys and just be with the high rank and file. Inside Wolffe sits across from Fox in a heated debate about some sports team. Cody stirs his caf while leaning against the small kitchen counter. When his eyes meet Rex’s he nearly drops his cup.

“You!” he says making the room fall silent. A smile spreads across Fox’s face. He stands reaching out to shake X’s hands.

“X! Nice to see you out and about like the rest of us.” Fox says putting a hand on his hip.

“Yeah its... it’s something.” X says rubbing the back of his neck. Wolffe looks to Cody for some answers on what’s going on.

“This is Commander X of Clone Force Zero. A special forces unit that’s going to be assisting the 501st.” Rex explains to both of them. He walks over to pour himself a cup of caf. Cody leans against the counter with Rex.

“So, what? These guys work with you now?” Cody asks softly. Rex takes a sip of his caf and nods. “Just out of the blue like seeing them yesterday wasn’t a coincident?”

“It appears that way.” He says. He wanted to tell him about the Council’s reaction to it but decided to wait until they were alone. X sits next to Fox as he continues his conversation with Wolffe. He looks stiff and out of place. Like a shinny. But he wasn’t a shinny. Force knows what all he’s seen on the battlefield.

The rest of the day goes by with Rex mostly showing X around the temple. Every now and then Master Windu or General Kenobi would appear somewhere around them watching. X didn’t seem to notice but Rex was sure he had. Rex had his own questions for X but kept them to himself. X wasn’t much of a talker and seemed on edge most of the day. Rex was glad Ahsoka was out helping General Plo. He doubted her constant bout of questions and lively attitude would have been good for X. When the sun finally sets Rex leads him back towards the barracks.

“Thank you for showing me around today.” X says breaking the awkward silence that had been growing while walking back from the mess.

“It’s no problem. I just hope my boys did a good job showing your guys around.” Rex says already preparing a lecture in his head for what they were about to find. And a good thing too. They could hear the fuckery before they could even see the barracks. X and Rex give each other a look before running for the barracks. They slide inside to find the 501st circled around Fives standing in the center wearing Flex’s gloves and armored sleeves with wire coiled on the floor. Stitch stands a few feet away twirling his staff.

“I don’t want to hurt you!” Fives says giving the wire a little shake.

“Don’t worry. Flex can’t even hurt me, and he’s trained with those things.” Stitch says with a grin. Flex shoots him a bird beside Hardcase while sitting on a top bunk. Rex and X walk silently through the parting crowd. Fives tries to strike at Stitch, but it goes way off course nearly striking Rex. X catches it letting it wrap around his arm. Rex couldn’t help but remember that same wire slicing through droids like thy were air. Everyone stares in silent horror. X’s eyes turn dark. Rex can hear the sounds of sparks from his palms.

“X, it’s my fault! Don’t…” Stitch steps towards them but pauses when X’s eyes close. He lets out a breath and relaxes his shoulders.

“ _This_ ,” He says walking towards Fives. “Is not a toy. It is a weapon that takes years to master and even then, mistakes happen.”

He stares down at Fives who almost appears to shrink before the man. Rex frowns stepping towards them.

“But this is not your fault,” X says giving off a much softer expression. Rex pauses not expecting that response. “I’m sorry my men put you in danger. If you would like real training with it then we could arrange a training session.”

“Thank you.” Fives says slowly. He takes the gloves and armor off handing it to X before retreating into the crowd of the 501st.

“Alright, funs over. Everyone get ready for lights out.” Rex says clapping his hands trying to break the tension. His men breaks up the crowd with each going to their own bunk. X hands Flex his things back. Flex stares at him for a second as if X were speaking to him. When Flex leaves them, X turns to Rex.

“I’m sorry for tonight. I thought my men knew better then to let…”

“Hey no worries!” Rex says holding his hands up. “I mean honestly that was actually pretty mild. You should have seen what I came back to when they first introduced fire troopers to the 501st. half the barracks was on fire.”  
“Still… I don’t understand why… where is _Side-eye_!” X yells making Stitch and Flex flinch. They look back towards the empty bunks Rex had shown them earlier. X walks towards them to find a sleeping Side-eye. He kicks the man awake. “Have a nice nap?”  
“If I say no will it make my situation better?” Side-eye asks slowly. X narrows his eyes at him.

“It was _all_ our fault, X.” Stitch says.

“Speak for yourself.” Ghost says making Rex nearly jump out of his armor. He hadn’t noticed the boy walk up beside him. He still wore his helmet. “I told them this was a bad idea.”

“Yeah, but you also said that about the landslide idea.” Flex shrugs.

“Yes, and you broke both of your legs and gave Side-eye a concussion.” Ghost says in a monotone voice.

“Buried the base… all I’m saying.” Flex mutters crossing his arms over his chest.

“It doesn’t matter. It’s over. Rex, I’m going to have a little meeting with my men before bed.” X says to Rex before leading his men out of the barracks. Rex starts to walk towards his own bunk before closing his hands into fists. The Jedi don’t trust them, and Rex wasn’t sure if he did either.

*

Rex finds Clone Force Zero standing outside of the temple in a dark secluded corner. Rex kneels behind a pillar where he can hear them arguing.

“Look all I’m saying is we did what you told us to do.” Stitch says holding his hands up in defense.

“I didn’t say let them use our weapons!” X growls. He stands in front of his men who either sit on crates or leans against the temple wall.

“I mean it’s not like we were actually teaching them how to use Flex’s wires.” Side-eye shrugs. “They aren’t the most practical weapon.”

“You’re not the most practical weapon!” Flex snaps in defense.

“Why are we even doing this X?” Stitch asks. All his men stare at him waiting for an answer.

“It was an order from Master,” He says making all of them look sick. “We do what we were sent to do and then everything goes back to normal. We can play nice with these clones for a little awhile.”

“Something tells me these clones aren’t the typical order following bunch. There’s something about them that’s off.” Side-eye says with a yawn.

“That could work to our advantage,” X says. “Now get to bed. We have work to do tomorrow.”

Rex starts back for the barracks before they realize he was listening in. What were those orders? Every alarm in Rex’s body was going off. He had a very bad feeling about this.

  
  
  



End file.
